Wheel.



No. 865,682. PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

H. GRAMER.

WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED r2243, 190s. nmmwm MAY 21, 1901.

W poa o oWa- 6 5006 0011 46 ll: II I 5' IIERA'IAN CRAMER, OF SONORA,CALIFORNIA,

ASSIGNOR TO CRAMER WHEEL COMPANY, OF

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

sEe- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sepia-10, 1907.

Application filed Februar 13,1905, Serial No. 245,476. Renewed May 21,1907. Serial No. 374,846.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, H ERMAN Carmine, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sonora, in the county of Tuolumne and State of California,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheels, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to wheels for vehicles and more particularly tothose wheels which are provided with iron or steel tires.

My object is to make such vehicle wheels elastic and to accomplish thesame purposes as are accomplished by a pneumatic tire. Therefore Iprovide at the end of each spoke an elastic connection with the tire,and I also provide for bracing the spokes together so that they shallprovide one solid frame work. i In this way I accomplish all thepurposes of the pneumatic tire, without rising such a tire, but-byaffording a simple mechanical construction which enables me toaccomplish the object of such tires without using them.

I have shown in the accompanying drawing an embodiment of my inventionin which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the wheel constructed in accordance withmy invention. Fig. 2 is a longitu dinal section showing the connectionof the spoke to the rim of the wheel. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the tireand the spoke, the brace connecting the adjacent spokes being shown insection. Figs. 4 and 5 are separate plan views of two washers which areassociated for the protection of the elastic filling; Figs. 6 and 7 arelongitudinal sections of said washers; Fig. 8 is a similar section ofsaid washers in association; Fig. 9 is a sectional view illustrating theconnection of the last brace ot the wheel. Fig. 10 is a view of thetraction plate which may be applied to the iron or steel tire shown..Fig. 11 is a piece of rubber which is designed to go between thetraction plate and the tire.

The hub of the wheel is shown at 1 and the spokes at 2. These spokes maybe connected to the hub in any suitable way. In this case the connectionis conventional, because the invention does not relate to the connectionof the spokes to the hub but rather to the connection between the spokesand the rim. My object is to obtain the advantages which grow out oi therise of rubber tires, without using those costly tubes of rubber whichare new so commonly employed. By the use of my invention it is possibleto use an iron or steel the upon a wheel, and to so construct the wheelthat the tire shall have all the elasticity of the rubber tire. Rubbertires are expensive and I have in this invention provided a cheapsubstitute for them. Pneumatic rubber tires are almost universally usedon bicycles and automobiles, and it sometimes appears extraordinary thatthe fragile character of such tires has not appealed to the publicnotice. As their use depends upon their expansion by means of air, asingle puncture may destroy tllClTllSGflllllGSS; and we know of manyoccasions on which an automobile or bicycle was unable to proceed simplyon account of punctured tires when the operating apparatus was incomplete order. My idea therefore is to use the tire of elastic steeland to combine with it elastic connections with the spokes of the wheel:and I now proceed to describe how this construction is practicallycarried out.

Each spoke 2 is connected to a casting 3 which has two angular hollowprojections 4: The outer end of the spoke is preferably grooved as shownat 5. This end fits in the socket and is surrounded and anchored in saidsocket by cast metal of any suitable alloy such as babbitt poured inround it tln'ough the hole 7. The casting 3 is adapted to receive a massof rubber Which is preferably formed in one body and is shown at S.Braces 9 extend from spoke to spoke, as chords of arcs formed by thecircur'nference of the wheel.

To the tire of the wheel are securely riveted castings 11 having conicalpins 12 which are in holes in the piece of rubber and extend downtowards the spokes.

As the rubber forms the elastic medium between the tire and the vehicleit is important to protect it so far as possible: and for this purpose Ihave provided a hub or covering 14 of leather, which surrounds therubber and is secured in position by a cord 15 or in any other Isuitable way. This protection for the rubber is further reinforced byrecessed washers of sheet metal such as are shown in Figs. at and 5.These pieces of sheet metal overlap and their flanges cover the upperedges of the rubber and the leather just before described. One of thesesheet metal pieces as shown in Fig. 7 is provided with holes by means ofwhich it can be sewed to the leather so that the two pieces of metal arefirmly secured in place. The position of these two pieces of sheet metalwhen joined together is shown in Fig. 8.

In setting up the wheel an outer end of the spoke is inserted into oneof the castings, and a brace is connected with one of the holes in saidcasting. Then the body of rubber is inserted in the casting. Then thetire to which the castings 11 have been previously secured is connectedsuccessively to the spokes by causing the conical pins 12 to enter theholes in the rubber. Each spoke as soon as it has been fitted to the rimis engaged with the hub. The final part of this setting up of the wheelconsists in putting in place the particular style of brace shown in Fig.9, which must be made in two parts, secured by the sleeve and pin shownand this completes the assembly.

1 do not limit myseli to the construction and arrangement describedherein and shown in the accompanying drawing as I desire to avail myselfof all such 1nodilica tions and equivalents as all properly within thespirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. In a wheel, the combination with a spoke, and with the tire, of acasting in which the spoke is secured, a mass of rubber in said casting,and projecting beyond it, and a projection secured to the tire andembedded in said rubber.

2. In a wheel, the combination with the tire, of hollow castings G'tCllhaving a plurality of hollow projections forming sockets. a mass ofrubber in the casting and loosely connected to the tire, and spokes andbraces secured within the sockets in said castings.

3. In a wheel, the combination with the tire, of hollow castings eachhaving hollow projections forming sockets, a mass of rubber in thecastings in loose connection with the tire, a mass of hardened metal ineach socket and spokes and braces having; their ends embedded in saidhardened metal.

4. In a wheel, the combination with a spoke and with the tire, of a massof rubber interposed between said spoke and tire and having a hole orrecess and a tapered pin secured to the tire and entering said recess.

In a vehicle wheel a hub, spokes and a tire, castings secured to thetire adjacent to each spoke, a body of rub ber held by each casting andseparate braces connecting said castings together, which braces arechords of arcs of P the wheel.

0. In a wheel, the combination with the tire, of an intermediatestructure comprising a series'oi independent socketcd castings andseparate connecting braces securing said castings together, an elasticconnection between each casting and the tire, and spokes secured in saidcastings.

7. In a wheel, the combination with the tire and spokes,-

of hollow castings which receive the spokes, a mass of rubber in andprojecting from each casting, and a connection between the tire and eachmass of rubber, and washers or plates overlying the masses of rubber andconstructed and arranged so as to admit the connection between the tireand rubber.

S. In a wheel, the combination with the tire and spokes, of hollowcastings which receive the spokes, a mass of rubber in and projectingfrom each casting, a connection between the tire and each mass ofrubber, and a pair of overlapping flanged washers or plates overlyingthe masses of rubber and recessed so as to admit the connection betweenthe tire and rubber.

f). In a wheel, the combination with the tire and spokes, of hollowcastings which receive the spokes, a mass of rubher in and projectingfrom each casting, a connection between the tire and each mass ofrubber, a piece of leather covering the projecting part of the rubberand secured to each casting. and washers or projecting plates overlyingthe leather and secured to said leather.

10. A fellyless wheel comprising a hub, spokes and tire, a structurecomprising castings having means for receiV- in; the spokes andconnected by straight braces which are chords of arcs formed by thetire, a mass of rubber in and projecting beyond each casting, and pinsprojecting from the tire and embedded in said masses of rubber.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses, this 6th day of January 1905.

HERMAN CRAMER.

Witnesses M. R. Sunny, CELESTE ANSELL.

